The episode "The Book Job" has fun with young adult fantasy series, and it stars the writer Neil Gaiman and plays off of the movie "Ocean's Eleven"!
Check out "The Simpsons" episode at Hulu:
Read an article about the episode: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/11/18/the-simpsons-and-neil-gaiman-heist-twilight-hunger-games/#/2
Showing posts with label young adults. Show all posts
Showing posts with label young adults. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Lighting Thief
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| Image credit: LibraryThing.com |
Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2005.
Annotation: Percy discovers he is a child of a mortal woman and the Greek god Poseidon, and then he and his friends go on an adventure to prevent a war between Greek gods.
Book talk:
You probably thought that Greek myths were just that – myths. That is what Percy thought, too. But while on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a school he is trying not to get kicked out of, he find finds out the myths are real because he has to fight a winged hag, who also was his teacher. However, Percy founds out not only that the myths real, but he is a demigod, a child of a mortal woman and the god Poseidon. On top of that, he finds out that Zeus thinks that Percy has stolen his master lightning bolt and will start a war if it is not returned. So Percy starts a journey to find who stole the real bolt, fighting with Medusa and going to Hades along the way, but also discovering that he has special abilities. All of this just to prove he is not a lightning thief.
Book Trailer posted by highcrazyloony on You Tube:
>Teen Recommended:
Hunter, 12, recommends books about Percy Jackson in his favorite genre of fantasy.
Awards:
- A Best Book of 2005, School Library Journal
- A New York Times Notable Book of 2005
- A Best Book of 2005, Child Magazine
- Bluebonnet Award Nominee 2006, Texas Library Association
- Askews Torchlight Award (UK) Winner, 2006
- Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book List, 2005
- VOYA Top Shelf Fiction List for 2005
- ALA Notable Book for 2005
- YALSA Best Book for Young Adults 2005
- Red House Children’s Book Award Winner (UK), 2006
- CCBC choice award 2006, Cooperative Children’s Book Center
- A 2006 Notable Children’s Book, National Council for Teachers of English
- A Publishers Weekly National Children’s Bestseller
- Warwickshire Book Award Winner (UK), 2007
Awards source: http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/percy-jackson-olympians/lightning-thief.aspx
Extras:
- Check out the authors website and hear the first chapter read by the author: http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/percy-jackson-olympians/lightning-thief.aspx
- Watch the trailer for the movie based on the book: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi613221401/
Fantasy genre
Fantasy works for some teens but not for others. Check out what these teens had to say about their favorite genres:
"[I like] fantasy because they are interesting."
-- Ambrea, 13
"I love adventure with heroes of all kinds."
-- Christine, 13
"[I like] fantasy. It explains me."
-- Cory, 14
"I read fantasy because I'm interested in learning about life."
-- Kelsey, 12
"[I like] fiction because it's made up but still feels real."
-- Nicole, 14
"My favorite genre is survival because it is normally very suspenseful and involves a character being put in life-or-death situations."
-- Haley, 12
"I read young adult fantasy and fairy tales. I love to read so I'll read just about anything."
-- Ashley, 15
"[I like] fantasy because they are interesting."
-- Ambrea, 13
"I love adventure with heroes of all kinds."
-- Christine, 13
"[I like] fantasy. It explains me."
-- Cory, 14
"I read fantasy because I'm interested in learning about life."
-- Kelsey, 12
"[I like] fiction because it's made up but still feels real."
-- Nicole, 14
"My favorite genre is survival because it is normally very suspenseful and involves a character being put in life-or-death situations."
-- Haley, 12
"I read young adult fantasy and fairy tales. I love to read so I'll read just about anything."
-- Ashley, 15
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Am I Blue?
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| Image credit: LibraryThing.com |
Bauer, Marion Dane, ed. Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence. New York: Harper Trophy, 1994.
Annotation: A collection of short stories ranging in different genres and from different young adult authors give a voice to young adults who are gay or a lesbian or who have a homosexual parent.
Book talk:
“A myth is yours only if you choose to own it.”
Although we live in a country that claims it is a melting pot, not all of its residents have had a voice in literature. Two boys – one Puerto Rican, Polish and Irish and one half-black half-Chinese – attempt to take one of the oldest stories in the world and give a voice to everyone – including all sexual preferences. Told in a film treatment style, the story shares the journey of their love and how they share it with the rest of the world. But “The Honorary Shepherds” isn’t the only tale. Am I Blue? has something for everyone – fantasy and realism, sad stories and funny stories, and stories about first love and death. What holds this collection of short stories together is a thread of giving the voiceless a voice. Of owning myths or changing the myth that homosexual people aren’t among us. Because they are, and each story gives an honest account of how it feels to grow up being gay or a lesbian or with a homosexual parent.
Awards:
- ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
- Horn Book Fanfare
- ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
- New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
- ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Book Award
- Minnesota Book Award
- ALA Best Book for Young Adults
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